We recently connected with Matthew Pineda and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
The idea for Moose.la, both a marketing agency and an alter ego, stemmed from a lifetime of overcoming challenges and embracing the spirit of resilience. My journey began with personal struggles, starting from being born sick and defying medical expectations to achieving milestones like winning Most Valuable Player (MVP) in my first year playing pop warner football and to becoming the second person in my family to graduate from college with a Bachelor’s degree. These experiences forged a strong sense of determination, hard work, and purpose, symbolized by the nickname “Moose” given by a football coach who recognized my relentless drive and purposeful approach as a young football player. Growing up in Boyle Heights, a community known for its diversity, struggles, rich history of migrants, and Mexican culture, further shaped my perspective of my city. The city of Angels (Los Angeles) a vibrant landscape of businesses, murals, sports entertainment, and cultural influences inspired a deep appreciation for art, design, and Los Angeles culture. Witnessing the entrepreneurial spirit and the prevalence of small businesses in the community of Boyle Heights, especially among peers in college, sparked the idea of creating a business that could offer marketing and design services tailored to the needs of small family owned businesses or sole proprietorships. The decision to start Moose.la as a digital marketing agency was a natural progression, combining my passion for art, business, and graphic design with a desire to help businesses succeed in competitive saturated markets across all types of industries. Despite the saturation in the marketing and advertising space, I saw an opportunity to differentiate Moose.la by focusing on providing high-quality best-in-class services at affordable rates, specifically targeting small businesses looking for website development or optimization of their current website, Point-of-Sale graphic design prints or digital marketing collateral, to e-commerce management and CRO (conversion rate optimization) solutions, and paid media advertising strategy. The name Moose.la not only pays homage to my personal journey and resilience but also represents the spirit of Los Angeles – a city synonymous with dreams, loyalty, and endless possibilities. With over a decade of experience in digital marketing, backed by a marketing degree, honesty, fairness, and real-world insights, Moose.la aims to empower business owners to confidently thrive online while staying true to its roots of dedication, quality, and affordability.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Currently as a Digital Marketing Consultant at moose.la, where I’ve been providing website management and digital design services for over a decade. My work encompasses a wide range of projects, from supporting a launch of a rebrand for consumer packaged goods (CPG) to executing successful email marketing campaigns for a startup health and wellness brand. I specialize in designing user-friendly e-commerce websites and creating engaging campaigns that yield data-driven results and enhance user experiences. Equipped with certifications in Retail Management and UX Design, I leverage tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, WordPress, Shopify, Google Ad Words, Meta Advertising, and Amazon Seller Central Management to deliver high-quality work tailored to meet clients’ needs and exceed expectations.
What has set me apart is my passion for continuous learning and my commitment to staying updated with the latest industry trends and best practices. My love for the hustle and drive to being the best version of myself and professional within my creative space. I strive to be a creative partner who not only brings ideas to life but also contributes to the growth and success of companies through innovative digital & campaign strategies.
In summary, whether it’s turning ideas into realities or crafting compelling digital experiences, I am dedicated to leveraging my skills, passion for design and expertise to drive meaningful impact and deliver exceptional results for my clients and partners.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
Born and Raised in Los Angeles, I was exposed to a diverse range of hustles, talent, influences, and entrepreneurial endeavors. From iconic murals illustration from around Los Angeles, to the street food vendors of Macarthur Park or the posh Rodeo Drive, to the bustling santee alleys of downtown LA, the spirit of hard work, luxury, and creativity surrounded me. Despite coming from a low-income community and a working-class family, I developed a strong sense of resourcefulness and hustle from a young age. One of my proudest achievements early on was winning a design contest for Nike during my sophomore year of high school. I utilized NikeiD Studio to design a custom Nike Dunk High Shoe, which was voted as the top design by peers from two local LAUSD high schools in my community as well as a panel of Nike team members. This experience ignited my passion for design and paved the way for my journey into the creative industry. My journey continued as I delved into web design, starting with customizing my Myspace page using HTML coding and later expanding into graphic design by learning Photoshop and Illustrator. Recognizing the demand for digital assets like flyers for high school house parties and community events, I honed my skills through self-learning and began offering graphic design services to clients, ranging from fellow high school students to school faculty.
As I continued my educational journey at Cal State University Northridge, I recognized the importance of graphic design in marketing and business. Combining my studies in Business Administration and Marketing with my self-taught design skills, I established myself as a graphic designer and quickly became known as a designer among my peers. Thought to myself that we as humans are mostly visual learners and we digest more information through graphs, charts, iconography, and branding. No matter how you learn, the ability to visual articulate graphics for promoting a product or services can quickly help a business’ next sale or promotional campaign within all types of media channels. Graphic design will always be a need or pain point for businesses and entrepreneurs in our economy. Along with Marketing a large part of it is knowing your audience and learning their pain points, likes/dislikes, preference, and behaviors combining both efforts to curate a compelling campaign to story tell why someone should choose your product or service within the marketing funnel. In this digital age, it’s important to be visible online or in order to compete, with a solid marketing strategy to attract new customers or retain returning customers for higher sales. Many business owners need marketing to help promote their business either via social media, traditional advertising, user-generated content or search engine marketing but many fall victim to lead-generation or big box agencies that are very expensive, provide low quality service for small businesses or sole proprietors. Moose.la is the affordable and reliable solution for this niche audience of small businesses or sole proprietors that would like to explore digital marketing.
Moose.la has consistently served as a reliable side hustle for me, especially given the standard cost of housing, commodities, and basic living expenses that often necessitate multiple jobs in Los Angeles. It has not only provided extra income but also allowed me to nurture my passion. Over the course of my career, my business has fluctuated between being my primary and secondary source of income, yet I have consistently managed to keep it afloat and retain clients. Presently, my business has become my full-time occupation, and I am eager to elevate it to new heights by implementing streamlined processes that can continuously expand my clientele through new projects and increased community engagement. Moose.la has reached several significant milestones, such as assisting an ATM business in securing their first online client, participating as a speaker at Roosevelt High School’s career day, launching the company’s first commercial and acquiring new tools and software to offer my clients. Each of these achievements, no matter how small, contributes to the larger goal and serves as fuel for my motivation and determination.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Honestly, being authentic and true to myself has consistently guided me through life. I follow three simple principles for assertive communication, which have proven to be highly effective. First, being firm involves knowing exactly what I need, clearly communicating it, and setting solid boundaries. Second, being fair means not asking others to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. Finally, being friendly is about delivering messages in a warm and approachable manner, including using a friendly tone of voice and positive nonverbal cues. This approach has not only benefited me personally but has also had a significant impact on my professional life. Knowing the complexity of marketing and providing one on one sessions with my clients, it’s important to establish this philosophy, well educating my expertise in digital marketing and design. Particularly in a city like Los Angeles, where networking and relationships are crucial, this strategy has been instrumental and has paid its due with my clientele. For instance, my longest-standing client, David Thomas, initially reached out during the pandemic in 2020 when he needed a web designer for his business, he was seeking to optimize his website (www.barberstylist.com). Our connection was made through a referral from my good friend of mine Jorge Oñate. The majority of my clients come through referrals from various networks, former colleagues, or past clients themselves. Despite the vastness of Los Angeles, the interconnectedness within industries is surprisingly tight-knit. What’s interesting is that I haven’t spent a single dollar on advertising for my business. This fact underscores the power of word-of-mouth marketing and highlights the importance of trusting oneself, nurturing business relationships, and honing one’s craft, all of which have consistently yielded positive results and contributed to the growth of my clientele. This has been a winning formula for me and my business, as I continue to grow and scale.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://moose.la/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moose.la/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moose-la/